1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to spinning-type fishing reels having a bail assembly that is pivotable between cast and retrieve positions and, more particularly, to a line holding mechanism associated with the bail assembly for selectively preventing line from freely paying out of the reel with the bail assembly in the cast position.
2. Background Art
Spinning-type fishing reels are well known in the prior art. Typically, a spinning reel has a frame defining a mounting foot for attachment to a rod. A rotor is mounted to the frame for rotation about a fore and aft axis. A line-carrying spool is co-axial with the rotor axis and oscillated in a fore and aft direction by operation of a crank handle, which crank handle operation simultaneously rotates the rotor to thereby evenly wrap line on the line-carrying spool.
To effect a cast with a basic spinning reel, the user picks up the line projecting away from the reel, with a finger on the same hand that holds the rod, and snubs the line against the rod. With the other hand, the user manually pivots the bail assembly from a retrieve position to a cast position. The rod is then cocked and thrust in the direction of the cast. As the rod is thrust, the user moves the line snubbing finger to release the line. Once the cast is completed, the user operates the crank handle to rotate the rotor. A trip mechanism on the moving rotor is automatically actuated by a cam element on the reel frame to force the bail assembly from the cast position back into the retrieve position.
Some fishermen do not like to have to manually grasp and reorient the bail assembly, as is required with the above structure. To accommodate these fishermen, trigger operated bail assemblies have been developed. One such mechanism us shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,450, to Carpenter et al. This structure employs a rotor mounted trigger that is pivotable to cam the bail assembly from its retrieve position into its cast position. Reels incorporating this invention have proven to be highly commercially successful.
The main drawback with rotor mounted triggers is that the trigger is accessible through only a limited range of positions for the rotor. Consequently, a centering mechanism is normally incorporated into fishing reels with the rotor mounted triggers. The user is required to back the crank handle up with the rotor rotation being arrested as the trigger situates immediately under the rod.
To obviate this centering problem, it is known to mount a trigger on a fixed portion of one of the rod and reel. Certain of these triggers are operable regardless of the rotational position of the rotor. Exemplary trigger mechanism are shown in each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,658,697, to Steinbaugh, 3,095,158, to Louison, 3,796,391, to McMickle, and 3,908,927, to Louison.
All of the above prior art structures require that the user manually snub the line against the rod during the performance of a cast.
In recent years, the assignee herein introduced to the market a very significant development in the trigger area. Some of the applicant's contribution is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,188, to Smith. The Smith structure utilizes a pin which automatically traps the line on the bail assembly as the reel is placed in a cast mode. The user merely has to operate a trigger which effects (a) pivoting of the bail from its retrieve position into its cast position and (b) positioning of the pin to block the line on the bail assembly. The user releases the trigger as the rod is thrust forwardly to thereby retract the pin and allow the line to pay out. With this construction, the user never has to directly touch the line to perform a cast. This invention has met with tremendous commercial success. The applicant herein continues to refine and improve various aspects of this basic structure.